What is Ubuntu?

A freshly installed Ubuntu 10.10 desktop.

Ubuntu is the most popular desktop linux distribution, there is a new release every six months.

For a much more detailed overview see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_%28operating_system%29

Download

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Full Media Setup + Installation Guide:

Here: http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

Mirror list: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+cdmirrors

Release Highlights

Ubuntu 13.04

So what will we be up to in the next six months? We have two short cycles before we’re into the LTS, and by then we want to have the phone, tablet and TV all lined up. So I think it’s time to look at the core of Ubuntu and review it through a mobile lens: let’s measure our core platform by mobile metrics, things like battery life, number of running processes, memory footprint, and polish the rough edges that we find when we do that. The tighter we can get the core, the better we will do on laptops and the cloud, too.

Announcement: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1195

Forum Thread: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1055349

Ubuntu 12.10

No, the quintessential stories of Q will be all about style on the client, with a refresh of our theme and typography, a start on new iconography and perhaps even a new form factor taking flight. So brown is out and something colourful and light is called for. On the cloud front, the new virtualized network madness called Quantum will make its appearance. Being a first cut, it’s more likely to be Folsom than wholesome, but it’s going to be worth calling out, and the name is reminiscent of our package-oriented practices, where goodness is delivered one piece at a time. And so the stage is set for a decision: I give you the Quantal Quetzal, soon to be dressed in tessellated technicolour, now open for toolchains, kernels and other pressing preparatory packages.

Announcement: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1121

Forum Thread: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1027119

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Ubuntu 12.04 released on 26 April 2012!

Let’s ask the question differently – what are we trying to convey? 12.04 is an LTS. So we want it to be tough and long-lasting, reliable, solid as a rock and well defended. It’s also going to be the face of Ubuntu for large deployments for a long time, so we want it to have no loose ends, we want it to be coherent, neat.

We’ve told the story of the cloud in previous releases, and that comes to fruition in 12.04 with the first LTS that supports both the cloud guest, and cloud infrastructure, across ARM and x86 architectures. We’ve also told the story of Unity in previous releases, and that comes to fruition in a fast, lean interface that works well across clients both thick and thin. 12.04 is going to be a lot more than all that, but for the full reveal, you’ll need to wait till UDS! Nevertheless, we can take reliability, precision, and polish as a given.

Balancing all of those options, I think we have just the right mix in our designated mascot for 12.04 LTS. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Precise Pangolin.

Announcement: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/784

Review: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/05/precision-and-purpose-ubuntu-12-04-and-the-unity-hud-reviewed/

Ubuntu 11.10

What we want is something imaginative, something dreamy. Something sleek and neat, too. Something that has all the precision of T S Eliot’s poetry, matched with the “effable ineffability” of our shared values, friendship and expertise. Something that captures both the competence of ubuntu-devel with the imagination of ayatana.

Which leads us neatly to the Oneiric Ocelot.

Oneiric means “dreamy”, and the combination with Ocelot reminds me of the way innovation happens: part daydream, part discipline.

We’ll need to keep up the pace of innovation on all fronts post-Natty. Our desktop has come together beautifully, and in the next release we’ll complete the cycle of making it available to all users, with a 2D experience to complement the OpenGL based Unity for those with the hardware to handle it. The introduction of Qt means we’ll be giving developers even more options for how they can produce interfaces that are both functional and aesthetically delightful.

Announcement: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/646

Tour: http://www.ubuntu.com/tour/

Video overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq4Oj5quskI

Ubuntu 11.04

We have this whole design thing in full flow, which is making Ubuntu sleeker and more stylish, as well as making it smoother for those who just want to get stuff done. We’ll make the N release the best-dressed ever. But classy covers don’t equate to good reads – we want style and substance to meet and get along famously. Once Maverick is out the door we’ll be turning our attention to making the most of the amazing capabilities of modern graphics hardware, both for outer beauty and for inner efficiency. There’s a lot more to GL than glitz and glamour, though we won’t say no to either.

We’re also putting a lot of work into chips and architectures (admittedly, not yet of the quantum sort) that keep cool, and help keep the planet cool in the process.

Announcement: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/478

Technical Overview: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyNarwhal/TechnicalOverview

What's new? http://vimeo.com/22932847

Ubuntu 10.10

Ubuntu 10.10 released on October 10th 2010!

It’s time to put our heads together to envision “the perfect 10″.

This is a time of great innovation and change in the Linux world, with major new initiatives from powerful groups bringing lots of new ideas, new energy and new code. Thanks to the combined efforts of Google, Intel, IBM, Canonical, Red Hat, Oracle, Cisco, ARM, many other companies, Debian and other projects, a hundred startups and tens of thousands of professional and inspired contributors, the open source ecosystem continues to accelerate. We need to bring the best of all of that work into focus and into the archive. For millions of users, Ubuntu represents what Free Software can do out of the box for them. We owe it to everybody who works on Free Software to make that a great experience.

More info: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickMeerkat/ReleaseNotes

Forum Thread: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=862388

Tour: http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/features

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Lucid will continue our tradition of focusing an LTS on a quality, stable and consistent experience and will require a number of adjustments to the usual plan.

Our focus will be stabilisation and bug-fixing across the platform with additional refinements in quality in key areas such as user interface improvements, boot experience, browsing and installing the incredible catalogue of software available for Ubuntu, and continuing our tradition of best-of-breed hardware support.

Announcement: http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1916

Forum Thread: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=814003

Release Schedule: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidLynxSchedule

Video Tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQqiExfYLjA

Ubuntu 9.10

Ubuntu 9.10 released on October 30th 2009!

Ubuntu 9.10 brings changes small and large that all have a common purpose - to make Ubuntu the most user-friendly operating system available. Ubuntu 9.10 features a redesigned, faster boot and login experience, a revamped audio framework, and improved 3G broadband connectivity, all of which contribute to a first-class user experience.

A Guided tour of 9.10: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2009/10/ubuntu-910-review-karmic.html

Official guided tour of 9.10: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/910features

More info: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/desktopedition

Announcement: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2009-October/000127.html

Forum Thread: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=757806

Ubuntu 9.04

Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition delivers a range of feature enhancements to improve the user experience. Shorter boot speeds, some as short as 25 seconds, ensure faster access to a full computing environment on most desktop, laptop and netbook models.

Enhanced suspend-and-resume features also give users more time between charges along with immediate access after hibernation. Intelligent switching between Wi-Fi and 3G environments has been broadened to support more wireless devices and 3G cards, resulting in a smoother experience for most users.

Review: http://lifehacker.com/5224586/first-look-at-ubuntu-904-jaunty-jackalope

Screenshots: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-9-04-Released-109987.shtml

Technical Overview: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/904overview

Forum Thread http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=712221

Ubuntu 8.10

Ubuntu 8.10 codename Intrepid Ibex.

Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition delivers the features you need for an increasingly mobile digital life, including 3G wireless support and guest sessions that lets users temporarily share computers without compromising security.

Ubuntu 8.10 ships with the Linux 2.6.27 kernel, X.Org 7.4, and GNOME 2.24. Among the general improvements in the Intrepid Ibex release include a much-improved BulletProofX, NetworkManager improvements, and much more.

Review: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_810&num=1

Screenshots: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-8-10-Release-Candidate-Screenshot-Tour-96353.shtml

Technical Overview: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IntrepidIbex/TechnicalOverview

Forum Thread http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=692386

Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS, the third maintenance update to Ubuntu's 8.04 LTS release. This release includes updated server, desktop, and alternate installation CDs for the i386 and amd64 architectures.

In all, 80 updates have been integrated, and updated installation media has been provided so that fewer updates will need to be downloaded after installation. These include security updates and corrections for other high-impact bugs, with a focus on maintaining stability and compatibility with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

Release Notes: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/804

Forum Thread http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=656851

Ubuntu

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